Aa I understand the struggle with hair shading! The top and back of the head of a skin are just relatively big surface areas and you have to get texture in there. They are my least favorite parts to work on with skins, and I always save them for last, finishing them is a daunting task.

So, here are some hair tips:

• Peek at other creator's hair shading to learn how they do it and adapt elements for your own shading.
  
• Don't use noise, it's forbidden! (by me, but I can't stop you if you do it anyway)
• Check out the "hair" section of this tutorial
• Maybe looking at this picture of hair separations on skins helps, albeit outdated

And if all the above is still tricky, some workarounds are:

• Fringes
  
• Ponytails
• Hats and hoods
• Bandanas
• Goggles
• (Pointy) ears
• Headphones
• Horns
• Bows 'n bops

The list goes on, shading hair is a lot easier when there's things on it to shade around.
And if all else fails: make your skin in such a simple style that there's barely any hair shading to do! 😂

Also to pick a favorite anyway, I am particularly fond of your John Deere vehicles. Not because they particularly stand out from your other work, but because there's a funny video about John Deere in the Netherlands, which has also become an inside joke whenever we see anything John Deere, that they always makes me think of.

Otherwise it'd be hard to pick an absolute favorite from you. With every single submission I am just amazed by the creative use of any block and item Minecraft has to offer to create them. And you screenshots & presentation are great too! So keep it up. 😁

Ahh thank you so much! 😊

I think you're one of the greatest PMC members too! 😁 Legendary mob skin maker, so many fun and creative skin designs! And cartoons, and other creative works. Not to forget that I super-appreciate your participation in all of the community contests and events. Thanks for being here, I hope we'll both stick around for plenty of time to come! 😊

Chocolate chip or triple chocolate, but I also really like Oreo's! 😁

Ha! Yes, absolutely love receiving fanart 😁 it's super thoughtful but also just really fun to see what choices people make with it.
And also I try to find a spot on my profile page for most of it, as you can probably tell.

Ahh are you reversing the roles? 😁

What is your proudest submission?

Oh and I would like to take this opportunity to mention that your bee with no stripes is very nice, and it was interesting to learn they actually exist, but also it makes me uncomfortable because it indeed, as the comments say, looks like a naked bee somehow. 😂


Bbb by Chiaroscuro

So many things! I love your content. So allow me to mention a few things.


First up your How To Create Feature Images, because I love a well-written tutorial, especially if they help other members create better content.

Also the way you present your builds is just so clean. 🤩




Also a favorite is Vignette #9 simply because of this:

“A few sentences about what the clock looked like are great, but don't go into an entire paragraph that describes its gentle and rhythmic ticks.” — Deep Below Blog Contest, PMC

& then you went and wrote an entire flipping story about just the clock, just because you could, and it was a great read too! 😂



But my absolute favorite thing you've done on Planet Minecraft is Simulacrum.
The most amazing writing event on the site in my opinion! It was well-organized, fun to be part of and the end result was beyond expectations. It ended up to be a cohesive and fun-to-read story with suspense. Absolutely wonderful to see that community effort unfold.
So thanks for that!

*browses 227 submissions*

You have a lot of submissions! Let me mention a couple.
Firstly I love your photography blog and the Summer Bloom one. PMC is a creative community, it's about more than just Minecraft content, and I love photography and seeing other member's photo's as well. So thanks for sharing those!

As for your skins, what I really like are the cute little details you add to plenty of them. Small bees, the little lemon, pizza, skull, fishbowl...
You manage to make them very fun and readable and that's a great skill to have!

But to pick and highlight one:


☀️ by CactiFern

What I love to see is when skin creators step out of their comfort zone, try something new and especially when that works out well! You did some great light source shading here. But not only that, it's an entry in a community contest, which (duhh) I love, and you did a wonderful job at interpreting the contest's theme into something nice! 😁

Ahh that's a lot, long answer incoming!


Pick your favorite submission from my gallery.

My favorite submission by you is probably your recent skin:


6 ~ InZanee (SF) Counter Attack by SouthDakotaGirl

Simply because you show a lot of improvement on this versus skins from just a few weeks ago! You've been experimenting with shading, coloring and shaping, and taken feedback to heart. It pays off! Also skins with a red, yellow and blue, spanning the entire color wheel, are just a great eye-catcher. Keep up the nice work. 😁


What do you think is the best shading?

I don't think there's a single "best" style or type of shading. The same design can look great in different styles, just look at all the different skin fight entries (feature in a recent weekly). Having this variety is great!

That said, I do think there are technical basics to shading, that just make any style better. Know how palettes work, balance colors, avoid blending, banding, pillow-shading and gradients, make readable designs: overall, know the tools to the trade. With those basics down, any style can look great!


Did you ever make a amoung us skin?

No! And I probably won't. There's plenty of those already. 😂 But I have made things that might fit the theme. Like this little astronaut buddy, he could pass as a crew member!


Any tips on Skinning and Art?

Broad question! But the most important tip: try to have fun with it! 😊 Don't push yourself. Creativity comes and goes, so does inspiration. Unless it's your profession, only create things when it's making you happy.


What are some ways I could improve?

You're on the right track! Experiment, experiment, experiment. Try new styles and techniques. Make your palettes differently each time. See what works and what doesn't. That's the most important part. Also I think a lot of the advice in my answer to Lemilas below, applies to your skins as well. So please have a read on that too!


Any tips on how to not be socially awkward?

Yes! An important, very practical one is to learn and just say "thank you" whenever you get a compliment. No excuses, no talking yourself down, no brushing it off. It can be difficult, but that compliment is for you, appreciate it! 😉 Applies on PMC and in real life.

Otherwise, I firmly believe that things are as awkward as you experience them to be. And that's a choice. Silences for example, can be very calm, relaxing, tranquil. They don't have to be awkward per say, it all depends on how you choose to interpret the situation. A matter of being mindful. Try not to overthink social situations. Which, of course, takes some practice. 😊


(1) Do you think PMC is changing for the better?

I think PMC as a website, technically, has changed for the better and is continuing to grow. Content-wise, I love to see how members today, especially younger ones, make the most incredible things! I'm often simply blown away. And I love to see how Minecraft and Planet Minecraft allow (young) people to develop their creativity that way. Something which is built on years of sharing content, watching how other creators do things, exchanging feedback, community-made tutorials and so forth. It just keeps growing!

Community-wise, there's a few things I miss/think changed for worse. Fan Skins replaced Skin Battles and reshade contests are a current hot thing, while I very much prefer themed contests or palette contests that used to be more popular on Planet Minecraft. Personally, I think Fan Skins and reshade contests just don't stimulate creativity quite as much. Still, a lot of people are having a lot of fun with them, and I respect and appreciate that. :)

(2) What is your opinion on wall-posts

Wall-posts are fun! But I do wish they were used in more creative ways by more members. I love to see art, event banners, tips, fun facts, mini-tutorials, features and content-related announcements. More of that, and less of memes and personal updates would be nice. 😊 But everyone should use them as they please!

(3) and "teen" skins?

Personally I don't enjoy the design of most teen skins as much. But I appreciate the skill that goes into the styles applied to some of them, and also the fun that so many members seem to have in making them, including the community interaction of fan skins and reshades.
I prefer seeing innovative designs, experiments, out-of-the-box concepts. Things I haven't seen before. You'll notice that in my favorites list.

Also fun fact, did you know that way back, "teen skin" referred to your typical teenage-emo-boy-in-creeper-hoodie-with-headphones kind of skin?


Have you ever been a PMC moderator?

Yes, actually! But only for a very short time. Probably late 2012 or early 2013, I became a forum moderator. Which was a weird assignment, because before then I had barely used the forums. I used blogs for community interaction instead. So I didn't do my duties & would have been much more useful as a site moderator. It ended pretty soon, after some disagreements, followed by me deleting all of my submissions and leaving the site, only to come back five years later. 😅


What are some fun facts about yourself?

🤔

One thing is I used to be super-goth as a teenager. Platform boots, black lipstick, fishnets and big colored hair included! 🦇
Not so much anymore, now I am just a boring regular adult.

Another fun one is that I planted dinosaur stickers around my home. Sitting on the mirror, in the cupboard, above the light switch... A little hide-and-seek for visitors I guess. 😊

Last one (I think three qualifies as "some"): my younger sister also has a PMC account and might still spook around here from time to time: Bibisaur.


(1) What inspired you to start Top Notch?

I was saddened to see the rise of the Minecraft Marketplace, which caused a lot of great content creators from Planet Minecraft to make skins for money, rather than for fun and community reasons. So I wanted to bring together a team that would focus on fun and growing and learning together while creating free content for the Minecraft community. 😊

Also that's not to discredit Marketplace creators personally. We all need money, I get it. If anything, I'm not happy with how Microsoft chose to monetize community creations.

(2) Also who was the first member (other than you)?

Hmm good question. I very much remember inviting HatThing when we just started. Otherwise it feels like ArcaneKnight has been a pretty constant factor from very early on. But I honestly don't remember it very well. 😅

(3) Also is our mascot really a snail because the team is slow?

No, the snail came before we stalled. It was some kind of inside joke, and might have something to do with the time when I suggested a name-change to SnailWaffle for April fools. But I don't quite remember. Chabileo drew it.
Also it's not even our "official" mascot. The actual logo is the purple fedora hat 😂 the snail just was once set as our Discord icon as a joke, and never changed back.


Wow, that's a lot of answer. Thanks for asking, though! I had fun with these.
Will make a guestbook-post later! 😊

Thanks for asking! I can think of dozens of answers so let me pick a few:

Using the BBCode Source editor (the little <> button in your text editor) to completely customize any text on Planet Minecraft.
A very useful thing to know how to do in addition to the "what you see is what you get" editor.
To add links, customize tables, resize images... Here's a BBCode guide if you want to read more about it.

On the topic of BBCode, PMC has a super-easy way to display any submission in any post with an image, link and mention of the creator simply by grabbing an embed from said submission. Here's how-to.

^ That is also the place where you find the "feature on profile" button to feature a submission in a widget on your profile!

Probably the most-stolen skin (suit) ever is The Skin of Kacboy by halucid. It's nice to know how to trace back a stolen skin, to be able to provide proof and report the thief. The description in this collection has a how-to. :)

If you're new to image editing, try to learn how to use Paint.net: a free-to-use editor which allows you to do basic image editing.
It's more versatile than MS paint but less complicated than Photoshop. It'll come in handy for various activities on Planet Minecraft.
Like making banners and feature images for your submissions, making trophies for your contests or making color corrections on skins and textures. Go to getpaint.net to download! 😁

Ah, I missed the part where you asked "and do you feel there's still so much left to learn?"

About the technicalities of Planet Minecraft, not so much. I don't feel there are (m)any features that I haven't discovered, or don't know how to use. Community-wise though, I think there is still a lot left to learn from other member's creativity and insights. Also content-wise, I am definitely not well-informed on mods, data-packs and probably other subjects too. In that sense, there's plenty left to be discovered!

Gee I thought you were here a lot longer than that XD

Thank you! 🤩

Let me start by just being happy about your picks of favorites. 😊 I very much appreciate you taking the time to do that. And am glad to see you picked just the ones I'd probably pick too if I had to mention my proudest!
Also, in all three of these, you sure had a share, if not always directly. Especially the simple style: I probably would not have figured that out to this extent if you hadn't challenged me to do so.

(I think you mentioned level 67 once?) The wayback machine tells me it was 65! But indeed, I thought it was 67 earlier.
Found out today that I would have at least been at level 72 had I not deleted any submissions.


I think your experience would definitely make for an interesting blog

That's nice to hear! Actually, I would love to write one, but I feel it would appeal mostly to members who have also been around for quite a long time, and newer members would just see me as some fossil stuck in the past. 😅 That's why I opted for this Ask Dinow thread instead. On the other hand, I always encourage others not to care too much about what audiences think and to just have fun with their content. So I might have to change my mind, and at some point write that blog anyway. Thanks for that encouragement. :)


when you returned was it more of the "same-old, same-old" for this site or were you blown away at how much it changed or somewhere in-between?

I don't think you've asked this before. Surely interesting how, with being somewhat active throughout all of those years, you don't see the differences so distinctly. I surely can mention a lot of major changes, thanks to being able to compare 2013 and before, versus 2018 and after. Which of course wasn't instant: I had to get acquainted with the community and site all over again when I returned.


The mentality in the community shifted. I remember there used to be a lot of ambition to improve, stand out or be the best. Which also resulted in a lot of innovations, new concepts, original content. I remember feedback groups on Skype, eagerness to learn and improve, skin battles, highly competitive contests (both official and community ones) and so forth. Level/xp was valued more. We gave diamonds to show appreciation and used favorites to collect actual favorites. Some of this mentality I surely still recognize in some members today, including yourself.

Versus today, where the community seems to be so much more about just having fun, making friends and being nice to each other. With fan skins, reshade contests, non-competitive events and Discord severs that are practically friend groups. Giving diamonds and hearts to show support and be kind. The implementation of wall-posts, profile widgets (including the guest book), emeralds on the forums, collections, removal of down-votes/minus-diamonds and several other features that were added over the years, surely must have contributed to that shift.


The thing that stood out to me the most, is that Cyprezz and PMC were "suddenly" (from my viewpoint) very much at the forefront, actively engaging with the community, when I returned to Planet Minecraft. They personally welcomed me back in the week of my return. 😊

In contrast, through 2012/13 we would surely run into moderators first, and Zaralith if anything gravely serious was at play. The owner of the site seemed like a sort of unreachable deity then, and understandably so because fanboyism was at its peak too. There's a lot less of that today, fanboys became supporters instead.


A lot of this shift can be seen in management/moderation on the site too. The moderator crew used to be a tough bunch, relentlessly enforcing rules. And my, rules there were! Too many of them, had you asked me. So I was delighted to see the drastic reduction of the rules when I returned, including some being changed into softer sets of guidelines which allow the moderator team a bit more space to trust their own judgement and make choices that are fair and friendly. Also in 2012/13, moderator roles (site/forum/chat) were seen as ranks, much more so than today when I feel moderators are assigned for just those things they're good at.

I also think a lot of the better content creators who had this ambitious spirit moved on with their lives, and/or got involved with the Minecraft Marketplace, shifting their content creation efforts away from the PMC community. Leaving at the forefront everyone who is here just for the fun of it.


Personally I find there are pros and cons to either mentality. And of course, it's not as strictly night and day as I'm making it sound. There are still plenty of innovations happening today, and plenty of competitions happening. While on the other hand, in 2013 we weren't all just tough folks. Also please note that this is just my experience, and my perception probably changed too as I got older.

There, you gave me a reason to ramble about the past, so this was me making the most of that! 😂


How do you avoid the skin-block and keep productivity as high as you do?

Let me start by clarifying that the skins posted to my DeviantArt during my time away, were skins from before I left PMC. They're just there because I wanted to have another way of showing them to people. Only the last ten-or-so few were made during my absence.

So the truth is, I really can't avoid skin-block. And I've accepted that creativity and inspiration come and go. While I wasn't making skins, I got into making photo-manipulations in Photoshop, had my own little business making things out of clay, picked up photography for a while, only to circle right back to PMC and making skins at some point. Interrupted by periods of time when I wouldn't create a thing. But I find that accepting the skin-block, or low points in creativity, does help with getting back on track more quickly because I allow myself the headspace to do something unproductive like playing the Sims 4 or just watching an Anime for a while, reset and let the creativity and inspiration flow back on its own.


Reaching a major milestone is always huge: What are your further ambitions on the site, if any?

One is that I still have not won first place in an official skin contest! Which is surely at the top of my list in terms of quantifiable goals, and one I doubt I'd be able to fulfill given the plenty of active members who have far surpassed me in skill and creativity. 😅

Otherwise, there aren't really (m)any concrete goals left. Rather things I hope to do: dust off some old concepts, like skin battle arrangement, help other community members learn and grow, and just enjoy other's creativity on this site for a long time to come. And, of course, I have my hopes up for various features to eventually be implemented, for us to play around with. 😊


People have been asking you to find favourites from theirs, and of course you can do that for me if you want to.

I'll go with one favorite. Both because this is a lengthy reply, but also it's hard to pick just one because I am majorly impressed by any skin you put out. So much so that I've viewed you as the most technically skilled ánd most creative skin creator on this site for quite some time now. You strive to improve, have interesting, out-of-the-box inspirations and just seem to navigate so easily between abstract ideas and tangible representations.

So I pick your Dreamless Wanderer

Dreamless Wanderer by DragonsDungeon

Dreamless Wanderer by DragonsDungeon

Dreamless Wanderer [​Contest] by DragonsDungeon

Simply because I know this one has kept you busy in a different way. It's a concept you try to represent but just can't translate quite as you want. (At least, that's what I understood.) While normally that's something you seem to excel at. The name is now almost poetic with how well it fits your journey of figuring this out. Hoping to see another iteration from you some day.


I hope your final thesis/work at the museum went/is going well. I must admit I am so far behind where you're at, but I remember you working very hard on that! Congratulations on all the accomplishments, I am sure more are in store and I hope you and Phrozen have a great summer without heat-waves and hopefully pandemic residues (sigh).

Best summer to you too! You and I sure are far behind, wouldn't know where you're at in life either, but I hope it's good. :)


I'll give a mini-update on mine:

Thesis went great, found a dream job which will soon end after a wonderful year, currently on the lookout for my next big step. Meanwhile Phrozen found a perfect job as well, working with networks and computers all day. We moved to our own place, the two of us, relatively close to my parents. 😊 Life's good.

How are you doing? 😃

I think it's great character design, and I like how well it matches your profile picture. 😊
Reminds me style-wise of the RPG Citizen you remade. I especially like the shaping of the ponytail!

This one:


*insert screeching here* by Aurosilia

I like Elsa but also I like your coloring on this and the minimal shading you applied to it. Please keep practicing this style, you do great at it 😁 would love to see more of that.

Oo hard to choose! The skins in your gallery have different highs and lows.
Also you seem to do a lot of fan-skins and re-shade contests, and huevember too. And I prefer to pick favorites that are an original design with original color palette. So that's how I landed on this one:


my personal skin by diving boardz

The idea of a fishbowl head is super fun, which made it very enjoyable to make a fan-skin of it too. 😁
Also I really like the complementary colors. Did you make the drawing in your profile pic too?

1. Which submission(s) of mine is/are your favorite(s)?

Hard to pick! You've made a lot of very nice things and most of my favorites are from skintober 😁

insert tree pun here - SKINTOBER by Fawne	don't have time to think of a title - SKINTOBER by Fawne
Super creative design! Really captures a feeling of autumn and Halloween. It showcases your detailed shading skills.	You know your way around simplistic shading too! In this your coloring skills really show. Striking skin!
festival - SKINTOBER by Fawne	oogie boogie man - SKINTOBER by Fawne
You called it semi-generic in the description. But viewing this makes me want to stroll a medieval market all dressed up in flowers! 😁	This too really shows your creativity in design! Please find more excuses to do things like this. 😉

2. Have you ever made a skin of an onion?

Unfortunately no :( however I did make a skin of Ao Oni, does that count?

& 3. Which type of onion is your favorite, if any?

Tricky question because names and categories of foods in Dutch (my native language) and names of foods in English aren't always consistent. BUT I really like scallion/spring onion, if that counts. I really enjoy it as a topping on a lot of different foods. And the best part is they don't make me cry! I am super sensitive to cutting onions, it's always very dramatic. 😅